PRINTER'S NO. 712
No. 682 Session of 1981
INTRODUCED BY HOLL, APRIL 8, 1981
REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION, APRIL 8, 1981
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
2 Statutes, providing for the giving of certain drivers'
3 examinations by certified driver learning instructors.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Section 1508 and subsection (b) of section 1514
7 of Title 75, act of November 25, 1970 (P.L.707, No.230), known
8 as the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, are amended to read:
9 § 1508. Examination of applicant for driver's license.
10 (a) General rule.--Every applicant for a driver's license
11 shall be examined for the type or class of vehicles that the
12 applicant desires to drive. The examination shall include a
13 physical examination, a screening test of the applicant's
14 eyesight and a test of the applicant's ability to read and
15 understand official traffic-control devices, knowledge of safe
16 driving practices and the traffic laws of this Commonwealth, and
17 shall include an actual demonstration of ability to exercise
18 ordinary and reasonable control in the operation of a motor
1 vehicle of the type or class of vehicles for which the applicant
2 desires a license to drive. Except for the physical examination
3 and the screening test of the applicant's eyesight, required by
4 the department, the remaining three segments of the driving
5 examination process shall be given by a driver training
6 instructor either certified or licensed by the Department of
7 Education. The examination given by the certified or licensed
8 driver training instructor shall be given at a location selected
9 by him and approved by the department. A fee equal to the actual
10 cost of the examination as determined by the department shall be
11 imposed upon the applicant and reimbursed by the department to
12 the instructor.
13 (b) Additional examinations.--If the department finds it
14 necessary to further determine an applicant's fitness to operate
15 a motor vehicle safely upon the highways the department may
16 require one or more of the following types of examinations:
17 (1) A vision examination by an optometrist or
18 ophthalmologist.
19 (2) A physical examination.
20 (3) A mental examination.
21 [(b)] (c) Issuance of license to licensed nonresident.--A
22 driver's license may be issued to a person who has not had a
23 learner's permit but who at the time of application is of
24 sufficient age and has a valid driver's license issued by
25 another state under a law requiring the examination and
26 licensing of drivers, providing that the applicant demonstrates
27 knowledge and understanding of rules of the road and official
28 traffic-control devices and is visually, physically and mentally
29 fit. Also, the department must be satisfied that the applicant's
30 experience in driving vehicles which may be driven by holders of
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1 the classes of licenses sought by the applicant is sufficient to
2 justify the issuance of the license without further behind-the-
3 wheel training.
4 § 1514. Expiration and renewal of drivers' licenses.
5 * * *
6 (b) Examination of applicants for renewal.--The department
7 may require persons applying for renewal of a driver's license
8 to take and successfully pass a physical examination or a vision
9 examination by an optometrist or ophthalmologist, or both
10 examinations, if the department has reason to believe, either
11 based on knowledge of the person or on statistical inference,
12 that the person may be a traffic safety hazard. The department
13 may require the applicant to take and successfully pass such
14 additional tests as the department may find reasonably necessary
15 to determine the applicant's qualification according to the type
16 or general class of license applied for and such examination may
17 include any or all of the other tests required or authorized
18 upon original application by section 1508 (relating to
19 examination of applicant for driver's license). Upon refusal or
20 neglect of the person to submit to the examination, the driver's
21 license shall not be renewed until such time as the examination
22 is successfully completed. Examinations under this subsection
23 shall be conducted in the same manner as those under section
24 1508.
25 * * *
26 Section 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 1982.
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